Dante's Inferno
Instructions for Use
According to an eminent critic, “Understanding in the Inferno is a process that might be characterized as hyperbolic doubt systematically applied to the values of contemporary society.” This may explain the revival of interest in the poem we have witnessed of late. In this track, students will read the _Inferno _in both a scholarly translation by Robert and Jean Hollander and a brilliant poetic rendering by contemporary Irish poet Ciaran Carson. There will be a special focus on the poem’s major episodes in the light of recent debates in the humanities. The seminar will include an up-to-date overview of Dante’s life and works and will introduce participants to the rare books and illustrated volumes of the University’s spectacular John A. Zahm, C.S.C. Dante Collection in the Hesburgh Library.
Academic Director
Theodore J. Cachey, Jr. is the Ravarino Director of The William and Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies and Professor and Chair of the Department of Romance Languages. He studies Italian language, literature, and culture and is either author or editor of numerous essays and several books on medieval and Renaissance topics, including Dante Now: Current Trends in Dante Studies (1995) and Dante’s Cultures (2005).
University of Notre Dame